<p>Dubai: He was an integral part of an U-19 World Cup-winning Indian team but it took Abhishek Sharma more than six years to break into the senior set-up and he is glad that he wasn't fast-tracked like some of his batch-mates.</p><p>Within a year of the 2018 junior World Cup triumph, his erstwhile skipper Prithvi Shaw made his Test debut and best buddy Shubman Gill broke into the ODI side.</p><p>Abhishek agrees that while they took the "lift", he benefitted from taking the "staircase".</p>.Asia Cup 2025 final: From two presenters at toss to champions India refusal to take trophy from Pakistan's Mohsin Naqvi — how the drama unfolded.<p>The 25-year-old was India's standout batter in the just-concluded Asia Cup, amassing 314 runs in seven games with three scores of 50-plus and an astounding strike-rate of nearly 200.</p><p>"Some get straight (into the team). Some do everything. So I felt that I needed to do everything. Because as a player, if I had come straight into the team, then I would not have got a chance to learn all the things that I did learn," said the newest heart-throb of India's T20 set-up.</p><p>The years spent in domestic cricket helped him sharpen his skills and know more about his own game.</p>.Asia Cup 2025 | Tilak Varma does star turn as India are crowned champions for the ninth time .<p>"I got a lot of time to try many things. To work on my game as normally, many players do not get that chance. I got more time hence worked a lot on my game," he said.</p><p>What stood out about him during the recent campaign was his bat swing and subtle adjustments when he went on attack even when he could defend.</p><p>"Like now, I am playing T20. I used to think how could I come in the team. What more could I have done and obviously, I feel that this is just the beginning of (journey) of our team. There is still a long way to go. Miracles will happen," the youngster exuded confidence.</p><p>Save the final against Pakistan in which he got out early, Abhishek looked very comfortable against the old foes scoring at a 200 plus strike rate. He gave a lot of credit to head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav for allowing him to take risks.</p><p>"I have never felt that this is a pressure match. We have prepared for all the matches equally. The way I play, I needed confidence and both Gauti paaji and Surya paaji gave me a lot of freedom because when you want to play like this, your performance can go up and down," he said.</p><p>"Obviously, if you want to play at such a high risk, then there will be failures. But the way they handled me at that time, the way they talked to me at that time.</p><p>"I think because of that I am able to play like this. Because it is very important that you have such support from the team."</p>
<p>Dubai: He was an integral part of an U-19 World Cup-winning Indian team but it took Abhishek Sharma more than six years to break into the senior set-up and he is glad that he wasn't fast-tracked like some of his batch-mates.</p><p>Within a year of the 2018 junior World Cup triumph, his erstwhile skipper Prithvi Shaw made his Test debut and best buddy Shubman Gill broke into the ODI side.</p><p>Abhishek agrees that while they took the "lift", he benefitted from taking the "staircase".</p>.Asia Cup 2025 final: From two presenters at toss to champions India refusal to take trophy from Pakistan's Mohsin Naqvi — how the drama unfolded.<p>The 25-year-old was India's standout batter in the just-concluded Asia Cup, amassing 314 runs in seven games with three scores of 50-plus and an astounding strike-rate of nearly 200.</p><p>"Some get straight (into the team). Some do everything. So I felt that I needed to do everything. Because as a player, if I had come straight into the team, then I would not have got a chance to learn all the things that I did learn," said the newest heart-throb of India's T20 set-up.</p><p>The years spent in domestic cricket helped him sharpen his skills and know more about his own game.</p>.Asia Cup 2025 | Tilak Varma does star turn as India are crowned champions for the ninth time .<p>"I got a lot of time to try many things. To work on my game as normally, many players do not get that chance. I got more time hence worked a lot on my game," he said.</p><p>What stood out about him during the recent campaign was his bat swing and subtle adjustments when he went on attack even when he could defend.</p><p>"Like now, I am playing T20. I used to think how could I come in the team. What more could I have done and obviously, I feel that this is just the beginning of (journey) of our team. There is still a long way to go. Miracles will happen," the youngster exuded confidence.</p><p>Save the final against Pakistan in which he got out early, Abhishek looked very comfortable against the old foes scoring at a 200 plus strike rate. He gave a lot of credit to head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav for allowing him to take risks.</p><p>"I have never felt that this is a pressure match. We have prepared for all the matches equally. The way I play, I needed confidence and both Gauti paaji and Surya paaji gave me a lot of freedom because when you want to play like this, your performance can go up and down," he said.</p><p>"Obviously, if you want to play at such a high risk, then there will be failures. But the way they handled me at that time, the way they talked to me at that time.</p><p>"I think because of that I am able to play like this. Because it is very important that you have such support from the team."</p>